Chapter Text
Ena wakes up feeling horribly ill in the morning. It’s not like she’s actually contracted a sickness, she can tell the sensation apart from that, but the anxiety is tearing her apart from the inside out. Her guts have been rearranged and her heart hammers into her lungs, making her short of breath. Her hands jitter and shake when all she’s doing is scrolling on her phone. It’s torturous.
Even texting Kanade, her one reprieve, does little to remedy her pitiful state. They say their good mornings and Kanade wishes her good luck, a kind gesture that she has no clue how much Ena appreciates. As fast as she feels her spirits lift, though, they fall right back down into the gutter when Kanade has to go and take care of her actual job. She reminds herself of their impending call later and wills herself to get up from her bed.
She can hardly even eat the breakfast her mother makes. She slaved away over the stove making Ena and Akito’s favorite meal, chock-full of love, the warmth and happiness of home bleeding into every gooey pancake bite. Ena can tell that everyone else is thoroughly enjoying them too, the way their eyes shimmer a little as they help themselves to another serving of syrupy delight.
Ena, on the other hand, can barely taste anything at all. The mint of her toothpaste was lost on her deactivated taste buds, the fluffy delicacy in front of her feeling like cardboard as it scrapes against her dry tongue. Her stomach twists and revolts against putting any food in her mouth, churning with nervousness she’s sure shows on her face.
If her unpleasant facial expression wasn’t enough to let everyone know how she’s feeling, the atypical quietness is definitely a telltale sign. Every small thing Akito does, something that would usually irritate her beyond belief, doesn’t even get her to bat her eye. She just stares forward, putting another bite of squishy nothingness in her mouth and slowly chewing.
“Are you alright over there?” It takes her a minute to realize that the words are directed towards her. Her hearing is turning fuzzy too, the pumping of her own blood and grating static absorbing any other sound that tries to penetrate that impermeable wall.
“Huh?” She flinches, the end of her fork butting against the table as she sits up abruptly. Her eyes scan her other family members before actually focusing her attention on the one who called her. Her mom has a worried smile—even Akito sporting a half grimace—and then her father’s overwhelmingly neutral expression.
“You don’t look like you’re enjoying your food.” Ena glances down at her plate, half-empty, and compares it to everyone else’s that have basically been licked clean. Normally she’d be at Akito’s throat, both of them fighting over who gets a larger portion.
“Oh, no, it’s good. Sorry, I think I’m just nervous.” With her facade blown away and her real feelings out in the open, she stops trying to force herself into eating. Her fork nudges the pancake around on her plate in little circles, poking it without the intention of indulging in its sweetness.
Her father gives her a long stare that mingles with the silence of the room. It only makes her even more anxious and it seems to have that effect on everyone, her mother standing up and taking her plate to the sink to rinse. Akito is scrolling on his phone and pretending not to be interested in the conversation but Ena can see how frequently he peeks up at them from his screen.
“I used to get nervous too.” Her dad eventually says, completely serious and not mocking like she was expecting. They make eye contact and his sincerity is conveyed even further, not backing down and without a teasing look on his face. “But,” he starts, smiling, “I’d only ever get nervous before I did really well.”
The meaning of his words don’t exactly land with Ena. Is he flaunting how good he was in his prime and now he doesn’t have to go to pesky meetings because he’s made a name for himself? How is this supposed to ease her fears? “What I’m saying is, I know you’ll do well. Were you nervous for your last meeting with that other company?”
Horribly so. Ena can remember standing outside of the diner and contemplating just going home as an admission of defeat. “I guess so, yeah.” She tries to play it off but she can’t keep her hands still, her fingers fiddling around with each other and twisting anxiously.
“And how did you do?” Ena doesn’t even want to think about the other company, Mrs. Asahina, those horrible meet-ups, but she has to admit that they’ve gone well considering everything that could’ve happened.
“I’ve done fine.” His smile grows a little, reaching out and rubbing on one of Ena’s twitchy hands before standing up with his own plate.
“You’ll do fine today too.” He follows his wife into the kitchen with his own cutlery and leaves Ena to her thoughts. Fine, she’ll do fine. If her dad says so then it must be true, right? She clenches her hands together and takes a deep breath. Yeah, she can do it.
“Ena.” Another voice, not her dad’s, rings through her head that’s become far less fuzzy. Akito’s annoying green eyes flit from her face to her plate and back again. “Can I have the rest of your pancakes if you’re not gonna eat them?” The stress in Ena’s chest still feels like a brick but the stupidity of the question makes her laugh a little.
“Go ahead.” Half-smiling, she pushes the plate to him and heads in her room’s direction. She has to get ready and text Mizuki since she promised she would in the morning.
–
Ena’s heels clack against the kitchen tile, looking in the reflection of the microwave and fine tuning her hairdo. The devil walks in to bother her, a strangled chuckle coming from the annoying ginger behind her.
“What’s so funny?” She snaps, glaring at him and seeing the way his mouth struggles to stay neutral. He’s even worse at hiding his laughter than Mizuki.
“Nothing.” His voice is a little wobbly but he clears his throat to steady it. “I’ve just never seen you so put together. I’m still used to seeing you on night three of painting where your clothes are decorated with a rainbow of colors.” Ena’s gaze grows tighter as she huffs, not bothering to respond and turning back to fix her blazer.
“What? Don’t be like that.” She stands firm on her decision not to answer, slipping the button through one of the holes and feeling the way her heart pounds. “Who’re you meeting with? The Ootoris? They’re pretty big names, right?”
Only the biggest names in all of the city. She wants to shout at him but knows it’ll come out as a pathetic squeak instead of the firm and intimidating tone she wants. “Not that big.” She responds simply, breaking her own personal promise of silence to his tomfoolery.
“You know they’re popular, don’t undermine it.” Akito almost barks at her and it frustrates Ena. Just what is he getting at? “I’m proud of you.” Her hands stop on the hem of her button-up, slowly letting go of the fabric and turning around to face his irritating self.
“What’d you say?” The question is mostly rhetorical. She knows what Akito said but it feels so out of character that she convinces herself her ears are playing tricks on her. From the way he reacts though, nervously coughing into his hand and refusing to look her way, it seems like she hit the nail on the head.
“I didn’t say anything.” He very slyly plays it off, his utter embarrassment serving as a form of entertainment for Ena. The intense cloud of despair surrounding her lets up a little.
She huffs a small laugh, taking her phone out of her pocket to check the time. “What’s going on with you?” It’s more muttered to herself but Akito hears it anyway.
“Geez, I can’t even be supportive anymore? Forbid I try.” His sentence sounds cut off in the middle like he’s holding something else back. Ena continues looking at her phone but strains herself to hear. “I’m returning the favor. You were nice about my dream with RAD WEEKEND and everything.” His humiliation is music to Ena’s ears, a playful smirk replacing her expression of unfathomable fear.
It’s thoughtful that Akito’s actually willing to be encouraging but Ena can’t leave the opportunity for teasing. He did tell Mizuki about her yesterday, it’s only fair. “Have you gotten all soft since I left?” He gasps and opens his mouth, brow furrowing with an anger that Ena can tell is obviously fake. “I’m kidding. Thanks Akito. I’ve gotta run but I’ll talk to you later.”
He grumbles something that’s inaudible to Ena as she grabs her bag and heads to the front door. “Whatever, good luck.” She smiles, waving before shutting the door and starting to walk.
The city is luckily still etched into her mind, knowing how to navigate like she knows the back of her hand... They haven’t added any new buildings, which is to be expected since she’s only been gone for a little, but it makes her locomotion easier. She knows which ways to turn, what streets she shouldn’t go down, and most importantly, where the Ootori office is.
Hinata sent her the location and she recognized the street name without having to plug it into her GPS system. It’s a lot unlike town, finding new roads she didn’t know existed even though she’s not necessarily new anymore.
She goes to Scramble Crossing and sighs with frustration at the amount of people. Maybe there are certain things in town that she prefers over the city. She squeezes through the crowds, making sure to keep her head low since being noticed right now probably wouldn’t be the best thing. She’s not exactly cutting her time close but she doesn’t want to risk anything she doesn’t have to.
The walk takes an unspecified duration of time, her brain not able to conceptualize anything but her worry and the action of propelling herself forward. She’s only vaguely aware of the buildings she’s passing by, relying on her trained body to carry her where she needs to go.
She thinks about her dad’s words, his reassurances that feel more flimsy the longer she thinks about them. Is she really going to make it out of here alive? She can only imagine the mortification she’ll feel if she goes home after the meeting, feeling confident, and then is immediately texted about them rejecting her. Maybe she won’t go home; she’ll find a box on the side of the road and live there as a starving curbside artist.
Just as she starts to resign to her fate, she realizes she’s approaching the outside of the building. It’s huge, scary, and makes her freeze cold. If she thought the diner was scary, with its uncaring employees and worn leather seats, then this is like stepping into a horror movie. Air stops moving into her lungs and her body can’t stay still.
The idea of running back to her mattress is short-lived, interrupted by someone else. “Ma’am?” As if she hasn’t already found herself in a pickle, it sounds a lot like a fan has recognized her. There’s that barely concealed joy in their eerily familiar tone, the type that people always have when they value her art and see her out on the street.
She turns slowly and is simultaneously filled with relief and anger. None other than Mizuki Akiyama stands there, the conniving and evil woman that she is. She clearly knows the resulting emotions of her actions, staring at Ena with an annoying taunting smirk plastered on her stupid face.
“Mizuki!” Ena half-shouts, scrambling over to her. “Why are you here right now? You know I’m very preoccupied.” She pointedly doesn’t tell Mizuki about how it feels like her brain is being fried like scrambled eggs on a simmering pan.
“Well hello to you too, Ena.” Lame! She’s so lame! Making Ena out to be this flustered buffoon when she’s antagonizing her. She should just walk away, go to her meeting, but she’s trying to convince herself of a reason not to go at all.
“I came to see you off on your big day.” She steps back and holds her phone up vertically, aiming it right at Ena’s ugly, slouched self. “Say ‘cheese’.” Her camera snaps and she puts it into her pocket, humming happily.
“What? Delete that! I’m older than you and not your kid, you don’t have to see me off.” Mizuki acts so entitled sometimes that it makes Ena want to pummel her.
“Look at you, all grown up.” She ignores that for her own sake, not wanting to get all fired up before she has the most important meeting of her life.
“How did you even know I’d be here? I didn’t think you knew where the Ootoris’ complex was?” It’s a fair question. Mizuki has lived here since she was born but she still has to ask for directions like she’s a foreigner. Ena would normally find it funny if the circumstances were a little different.
“I’m internet proficient.” She puffs out her chest proudly and smiles, making eye contact with Ena and seeing her deadpan stare. “I just looked up where they do their business, it’s not rocket science.”
“Mizuki, you’re a student. I know well you don’t have a random gap of free time in the afternoon on a Wednesday.” She scolds Mizuki; maybe she’s the child in this situation. Unfortunately, Mizuki’s look of pride doesn’t fade whatsoever.
“I’ll go back to class when I hear about your meeting. I don’t want you to go through it alone.” There’s a mixture of genuine care and teasing in Mizuki’s tone as she says her last sentence, a weird feeling spreading through Ena’s body that she doesn’t have the time to think about.
“Thank you, but no thank you. I have to go in there now if I want them to even consider me, alright? I’ll talk to you later, I promise.” Mizuki frowns and tosses her head back dramatically, eventually accepting it since there literally isn’t anything Ena can do to change the situation.
“Fine. Leave me all alone, it’s okay.” She pokes and prods more, Ena’s face becoming less content being the brunt of her jokes. “I’ll be ready when you are; my ears are wide open.” She cups an ear with her hand and waves with the other, distantly ushering Ena to enter the dreaded building.
She casts one last longing glance as she pushes the doors open but Mizuki doesn’t look her way, making Ena face the disaster all on her own.
The first thing she notices is how extremely put together the place is. It covers a huge area—she could see that from the outside—but it looks even more expansive from the inside. The hard floor is spotless, shining under the bright lights on the ceiling.
Another thing that stands out to her is how there’s practically no one inside. She had expected a family of such prestige, a company so well-endowed, to have people rushing in and out constantly. That isn’t the case at all, Ena and the woman behind the counter making eye contact from their distance across the room the moment she walks in the door.
There’s no more chances to turn around now, having been spotted by someone of their establishment. Ena takes a tentative step forward, cringing at the sounds her heels make when she hadn’t paid it much mind earlier. It feels like announcing her presence, echoing through the empty building and shouting ‘look at me!!’
“How can I help you?” The woman asks when they enter a comfortable range for conversation. Her inflection throws Ena off immediately. She can’t tell if the woman is upset, tired, or maybe a mix of both. Pushing that worry down, she tries her best to respond in the elegant way an experienced businesswoman would.
“Yes. I have a meeting with the Ootoris at noon today.” She’s surprised at how nicely her words glide despite the choking feeling in her throat. The woman jots something down on a piece of paper that Ena can’t see since it’s blocked by the lip of the counter.
“Surname?” Ena hesitates for a moment out of reflex, almost laughing out loud but holding it back. There’s no Kanade here, nothing to fret over.
“Shinonome.”
The woman types something up on the computer in front of her, taking a hold of the mouse as she scrolls. She slides her finger on the mouse wheel for quite a while. Are there a lot of Shinonomes around here?
“Ena?” She asks finally, Ena frantically nodding in response. Okay, so they actually did put her down for a meeting and haven’t lured her out here for nothing. It’s not like it was one of her biggest worries but she’s thought up every possible thing that could go wrong. It’s nice to know that at least one thing is in place where it’s supposed to be. “Alright. Take the elevator to your right, third floor, and then go to the room at the very end of the hall. You can’t miss it.”
Ena’s almost certain that she absolutely can miss the room but she digresses. She nods and thanks the woman, walking over to the elevator that waits for her and her only. It really is odd moving through such a spacious building that lacks life.
She’s used to standing in these elevators for meetings, crushed up against the wall or smushed between four different people because there’s just so many of them trying to get to the same spot at once.
She clicks the glowing button with the number three on it, watching as the doors slowly shut and the woman behind the counter glances at her one last time. The doors close and press against each other with a sound of finality, sealing her fate at whatever this meeting holds for her.
She’s terrified to say the least, heart on the brink of giving out and stomach making her feel painfully nauseous. This nervousness is like nothing she’s ever felt before, omnipresent and totally consuming from the tips of her toes to the scalp of her head. It’s horrible, it’s the worst thing she’s ever felt, but it’s also necessary if she wants to land this job.
The elevator ride goes both agonizingly slow and extremely fast at the same exact time. Her mind sifts through all her pre-programmed responses, wondering if they’re expecting something more professional or laid back. Her legs tap on the floor as her heels continue to make that noise she despises.
Her breaths are bated, getting caught in her throat and making her have to force them out. It’s not an automatic bodily function anymore, nothing feels like it is. She’s acutely aware of how she respirates, how her eyes blink, even how her heart pushes blood through the arteries hidden under her skin.
The elevator makes a chiming noise, not as satisfying as the bell of Kanade’s flower shop, and alerts Ena to the fact that she’s arrived at the third floor. The doors open for her, granting her vision of the long and ominous hallway that waits for her. It feels like a walk to the plank of a ship, preparing herself for inevitable death.
When she walks down the corridor, she understands what the lady behind the counter meant earlier about not being able to miss it. There are doors to her right and left, ones that seem small and insignificant to the huge set of doors that wait for her at the end. They’re taller than the rest, maybe by two feet, and are obviously the entrance to a grand meeting room.
She’s supposed to meet with Shousuke and Keisuke there? This huge room, all for the three of them? Is it even going to be just three of them? Is it seriously going to be four of the richest people she knows pitted against one of her? She doesn’t know! She knows nothing and that stresses her out so much more.
She tries to make herself forget about those fears, bottling them up to save for later when she isn’t standing in the hallway outside of the meeting room. How does one even go about bringing attention to themselves when they feel so miniscule compared to everything?
Ena brings a hand up, knocking on the door two times. One time feels like it won’t be enough to make noticeable noise, three times feels like it’s too much and will make her seem childish; two is the perfect sweet spot for mature and serious about the job opportunity.
Practically as soon as her hand separates from the wood of the door, not even falling back down to her side, the entrance presents itself to her. Both doors are swung open like they’re greeting her for her demise, the final meeting before she is no more.
There are two people sitting at the comically large meeting table she was expecting. Its vertical length is absolutely outrageous, a table more monstrous than she thinks she’s ever seen anywhere outside of a cheesy sitcom. Who needs a dozen seats?
She wonders for a moment who opened the doors for her. Maybe the Ootoris have fancy helpers who do things for them? That theory is immediately disproven when none other than Emu pops out from behind the left door.
“Ena!” There’s a powerful collision with her chest, a tight hug that lasts only a second instead of the professional handshake she had embarrassingly spent almost an hour last night practicing. “I’m so happy you showed up.” She whispers this time but it isn’t much more quiet than her normal speaking voice.
From the right side, another head of pink hair emerges. It’s a duller pink but still obviously there, someone she assumes is Hinata given that she’s the only other girl in the room. “Hello Ms. Shinonome. We’re glad you could make it.” Hinata approaches and gives Ena an opportunity to use her handshake skills. It lasts a short duration, a time in which Ena is painfully aware of how sweaty her palms have become. “Come, sit.”
She shuffles in the room like she’s a baby fawn that’s never walked on her own two legs before. Each step is wobbly and she has to watch her feet so she doesn’t slam into anything, definitely not the way a woman her age should be walking.
If anyone notices, they don’t say anything. Emu is too absorbed in humming something as she forces the huge doors shut. Ena has a brief moment of concern, thinking about how cruel it is to make the littlest of the bunch close the doors, but she zips her mouth when she sees Emu complete the task easily.
Hinata walks her over to a seat and luckily doesn’t make her sit all the way across the table like she was assuming she’d have to. She’s grateful for that, doubting the ability of her surely shaky voice to project all the way across the room effectively.
Her hands clutch on her bag as she looks at the people sitting with her. She’s angled in an odd way to face the men, the curve of the table making things awkward. Hinata sits to her right, next to her Keisuke and then who Ena assumes is Shousuke. Emu pads over after her impressive feat with the heavy wooden doors, settling herself next to Shousuke and giving Ena a blatant thumbs up.
“Ms. Shinonome.” Her eyes snap to attention. Right now is probably one of the worst times to get sidetracked. “This meeting should be hasty as we don’t have many questions.” That’s a relief. Ena knows that every minute a meeting stretches on is another minute for her to ruin things. “First, we’d like to thank you for coming all this way to meet with us.”
Even though it’s been only a few seconds, Ena is glad that things are off to an okay start. Her worst nightmare is showing up for them to immediately start scolding her. “We’ve viewed your art and deemed it satisfactory in quality, however, we’d like to appraise you as a client and not only as an artist.” Ena nervously swallows but makes sure it produces no noise.
“We were the ones who approached you for employment, that’s true, but why is it that you decided to follow through and call us?” Her queued up response is what she thinks they want to hear, something about how great her work ethic is and how it’ll benefit them, but it’s not how she feels. It’s true, she does want this job more than almost anything, but she remembers her dad’s words.
“Um, I guess I’ve been a fan of Phoenix Wonderland since I was a young child as well.” Her voice squeaks embarrassingly, her nervousness horribly obvious. “Even though I was a little caught off guard at being scouted by an organization as large as yours,” she clears her throat awkwardly, “I was honestly thrilled at the prospect of working with you guys.” She studies their faces for any sign that she’s straying completely off of what they’re looking for.
Emu is grinning wide and Hinata is smiling gently, but they don’t count. Keisuke has that cold expression she’s always seen him wearing, even now not saying a word despite being face-to-face. He pushes his glasses up farther on the bridge of his nose.
Shousuke glares at her too, a stern and firm smolder presenting itself. She can’t tell if he’s completely uninterested in what she’s saying, silently criticizing her motivations behind responding, or a mix of that and even more.
She can tell just from the tightness of her throat that her nerves are starting to take over. “I-I’ve been following the franchise forever now. And— and I cherish your mascots. I think that I can capture the love that’s been put behind the art in all the years previous. I-If you’d give me a chance!” She accidentally shouts the last part, making herself jolt and nervously peek up at them. She feels vulnerable after pouring her heart out, sitting there and nervously waiting to see if they think her inner emotions are good enough.
The two men sit there with equally unreadable stares, eventually turning to each other and telepathically communicating. “Would you mind giving us a moment?” Hinata and Emu seem to know what that means, standing up and looking at Ena expectantly. She stands with them, following as she’s guided out the doors.
They shut again, this time with all three girls on the other side as they leave the bosses to discuss. Instantly, she looks worriedly between Hinata and Emu. “D-does that mean they’re excusing me? Was my meeting no good?” She might just die if they don’t answer her as soon as they can; the silence stretching on is making her feel like her skin is engulfed in flames.
Emu starts jumping up and down, a reaction that Ena can’t tell the meaning of. Luckily, it’s clarified by Hinata’s clear words. “No, they’re just discussing. They send Emu and I out with clients so they're not left here alone to freak out…” she giggles a little, “like you are right now.”
Ena tries to process the logic behind their actions, only making sense of it half way before Emu shouts out. “That was so wonderhoy!! Ena! I really really hope they pick you. Do you really like Phoenix Wonderland that much?!”
Her squeals reverberate down the hall because of how the building is constructed. It was the truth when she said it and it’s the truth now, but still, admitting to Emu that she sincerely meant all the praise about Phoenix Wonderland is a little embarrassing. “Ah,” she stammers out, “Yes, it’s true.” Her face is red for several reasons, both her nerves and now suddenly being put on the spot.
“I’m so happy! I know they’ll hire you, and then you can keep making our art all pretty and kapow!” Another onomatopoeia that Ena doesn’t exactly understand. She glances at Hinata and sees a persistent smile on her face so she assumes it’s more of a compliment than an insult.
“Was that normal meeting procedure? I’m not judging you guys, it’s just that all the other meetings I’ve been to have been more like an examination.” Ena tentatively expresses her concerns, still no word from the deliberators behind the door.
“It normally takes longer since they have to look at the art but they’ve already seen yours.” Hinata peeks at the door and makes sure it’s still closed, leaning in a little more towards Ena. “I can tell they like it. They both pretend to be hard-headed but they’re soft.” She can’t help her reaction, playing with the strap on her bag that still sits over her shoulder.
Maybe she didn’t have to print out her portfolio then; the colored ink cost her a small fortune.
Suddenly, the doors open again with an invigorated force. “Let her go.” Ena’s heart sinks. Of course it’s Keisuke who delivers the news, a deep voice that scarily rattles. The doors shut again and Ena only stares at the grain of the wood.
She hears distantly the sound of her future flying away, hissing like a bomb that’s coming down to explode on her. “Yay!! That’s so great!” Emu bounces up again, flinging herself at an all too confused Ena. Had they not just told her to go home?
“They’re just saying they need time to think about it.” Hinata helpfully provides, noticing the whiplash that Ena is feeling right now. “They’ll get back to you within a day or two without fail, they’ve never been late. I have a feeling you have good odds. I’m rooting for you, Ms. Shinonome.”
Ena, still dazed, watches as the two girls wave at her. They walk towards the doors and knock only once, opening and welcoming them in before shutting and leaving Ena on her lonesome.
What… was that? It felt more like an initiation than it did a meeting. She popped in for a few minutes, talked about how much she likes an amusement park of all things, and now she’s expected to go home with a confident head on her shoulders?
She slowly crawls her way down the hall, finding the elevator again and waiting for it to rise up to her level. There aren’t even thoughts in her usually full head. There aren’t worries, there aren’t criticisms about how poorly she performed, there’s just nothing.
The elevator makes that same noise it did the first time, much quicker than the first time, and Ena exits. She probably looks so out of it but she can't change her face. It expresses exactly how she feels, utterly confused and maybe a little nervous underneath the thick layer of numbness that coats it.
Behind the counter still has the woman from when she walked in, looking at Ena with a pitiful look on her face but not saying anything as she staggers out of the entrance she had walked in with such a grand amount of energy earlier. Nervous energy, yes, but energy.
“Boo!” A little bit of her vitality returns when she has the soul scare out of her. Ena whips around and sees Mizuki standing there.
“Mizuki? Have you been here this whole time?” Mizuki hops up from where she sits on a random brick wall that leads to the building.
“Well I thought it’d be rude to go inside.” She smiles and looks away bashfully, twirling one of her money pieces around her finger. Ena thinks about responding, opening her mouth, when a memory suddenly dawns on her.
“Stay here.” She commands Mizuki who for some reason listens to her. Maybe it’s the way she’s so pale it looks like she had all of the blood sucked from her.
Either way, Ena takes her phone out and unsilences it, walking a little ways away from Mizuki and calling Kanade. She feels a little evil making Mizuki wait but in her defense, she never explicitly told her to be here.
The phone rings only once before it’s picked up. “Hi.” Ena sighs, completely exhausted.
There’s rummaging on the other side, what sounds like that cellophane Ena has become so familiar with. “Hello?” Kanade’s voice is crunchy and hard to hear. There’s more rustling, what sounds like a crush and a wince of pain, and then nothing. “Sorry, hello?”
That’s all better, Kanade’s singsong voice hits her ears and it feels like all the confusion from the meeting is starting to vaporize in real time.
“Hi Kanade.” Ena greets her again like she wasn’t the one to call and say hi first. It feels like her brain is malfunctioning, not remembering exactly why she’s calling but knowing it’s the right thing to do, the thing she wants to do.
“Hi… Ena.” Kanade sounds confused. “Are you alright over there? How was the meeting?” Boom, a nuclear explosion goes off in Ena’s head. Everything hits her all at once, the nervousness that had been building beating her down like it hates her.
She can’t control the loud groan she lets out, starting to pace around as she habitually does. “Not good I’m guessing?” Kanade is so gentle and sweet sounding that it makes Ena want to cry. She won’t, she definitely won’t since she’s in public, but she wants to. It was just so overwhelming, even though nothing of any sustenance happened at all.
“I don’t even know how it went.” Her voice sounds horrible. She can’t tell if it’s because of lingering anxiety or because she’s on the verge of tears.
“Don’t force yourself, only say what you want.” And Kanade’s just making it worse; not really but sort of. She doesn’t even know what’s happening but she’s still so caring. Ena takes a few steadying breaths, following the puffs of air she can hear from Kanade despite not knowing if it's purposeful or simply a coincidence.
“It was just so weird. They didn’t even look at my… work, just asking me questions.” Ena bites her tongue as she fibs. She had almost forgotten that Kanade doesn’t know the true nature of this meeting, thinking that it’s something for the company she already works under. She promises herself that if this goes the way she wants it to then she’ll cough up the truth.
Kanade is silent but not for too long, a comforting silence in Ena’s opinion. “I’m so sorry Ena. I’m sure you did great even without showing them what you do.” So kind and reassuring, it’s a relief on Ena’s senses that have been bombarded with nothing but chaos all day. Her voice is soft, caressing Ena and bringing her down from her panic.
“Do you promise?” It’s needy, Ena knows it, but she feels like she’ll die without some form of security.
“Definitely, I always believe in you.” And Kanade always knows just the words she needs to hear. Ena just takes it in for a moment, letting everything seep into her skin and feeling the emotions she was accidentally pushing away earlier. It’s a lot but it’s manageable, not as burdensome as it would’ve been were she walking home alone.
“I’m sorry for that, Kanade. What have you been up to?” Ena redirects the focus of the call so she can get a break, maybe just listen to Kanade talk for a minute before they inevitably have to part ways.
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Kanade pauses, whispering to herself, “...Um, story… story.” Ena smiles a little. She had agreed yesterday that she’d find something to tell Ena about. “Ah, I’ve got it. I went by the bakery this morning and I thought of you.”
Ena’s momentary solace from everything art stops. The bakery? Why does a place like that remind Kanade of her? Has she somehow found out about the commission she took on? How? When? Why? Everything is so confusing today.
“I got breakfast because I decided against Cup Noodles today. I wasn’t sure what to get so I decided on the croissant you bring me sometimes. I liked it but I think it tastes better when you’re the one giving it to me.” Kanade giggles over the line and Ena releases the tension of her body.
Despite sending her on a rollercoaster of emotions, Ena is glad that there’s something in her daily life that reminds Kanade of her. Is that selfish? Yeah, probably, but she doesn’t mind all that much right now.
“That’s really cute Kanade. I’m glad you’re eating a better breakfast.” Ena listens back at her own words, the choice use of the word cute, but doesn’t bother flustering or even stammering to fix it. She means it and Kanade should know that.
Someone is a little more embarrassed than she is, though. “O-oh, um. Thank you, Ena.” Ena grins wider, appearing stupid to anyone who sees her but not caring because she’s in her own little world.
“Listen, Ena. I actually have a customer coming in a few minutes. I know I said we could call when you were done but I wasn’t expecting you to finish so early. Would you mind if I…?” The statement is left unfinished that Ena can easily pick up what she’s putting down. She almost chides herself for forgetting the fact that Kanade has a whole flower shop to take care of, by herself now that Ena isn’t in town to help.
“Don’t let me stop you, I know you’re busy. We could always call or just text later if you want.” Even though Ena would much rather call.
“Really? Thank you. I’m so sorry, it’s just an important repeat customer, and I don’t want them to be frustrated with me.” Ena understands, the loyal ones are the best ones to keep attached to your hip.
“Of course, I totally get it.” More or less, she gets it.
“Thank you, Ena. You’re the best, I’ll talk to you later.” Ena feels a blush bloom on her cheeks at the small compliment.
“Talk to you later.” She doesn’t even bother separating the phone from her ear to hang up, listening as Kanade does it instead. There’s the click and hum of the phone line cutting off, slowly prying her cellphone away and sticking it back in her pocket. Her mood is infinitely boosted, a million times better than it was when she left the meeting.
She feels a lot like she’s missing something when she remembers that she had ordered Mizuki around a little bit ago. She walks the few feet that separate where she declared Mizuki’s seat and where she was on the phone, seeing Mizuki sitting on the brick wall and swinging her feet while she waits.
“Ena! What were you doing? Who was on the phone?” Really, Ena can’t have any information to herself.
“My mom, she was asking me about dinner tonight.” She’s already a little over today with the whole meeting thing, Ena doesn’t want to explain to Mizuki how her and Kanade have begun calling and it’s the best thing to happen since sliced bread.
“Really? Dinner isn’t for a while though.” Ena shrugs.
“My mom is responsible.” Ena thinks for a moment, deciding right now is the time to take a jab at Mizuki. “Unlike someone else I know. Why aren’t you at school? You really just loitered around for like an hour while I had a serious work meeting?” Mizuki makes a face of mock offense, gasping and holding a hand to her chest.
“You wound me, Ena! I’ve done nothing to warrant this rudeness, only waiting for my friend to see how she’s doing after a stressful time.” It’s true, the stress is real and was definitely getting to her, but to make Mizuki skip school is a little excessive. Ena knows Mizuki would’ve skipped regardless of whether or not she had the meeting but it’s the sentiment that matters.
“What is it you need from me? A report on my meeting? If that’s the case I don’t really want to talk about it, it sucked bad.” Ena moves her eyes away from Mizuki’s not meeting them out of shame. Even if Kanade had done wonders to her mood, it’s a little difficult to bounce back so seamlessly.
“We don’t have to talk about that! I have other plans. Maybe. I mean— what are your plans right now?” Mizuki is horribly unspecific in what she wants. Ena really just wants to go home, lay in her bed and sleep for maybe half the day. She doesn’t mind sleeping through dinner if she's able to relax her body and feel at peace for the first time in a minute.
“I’m not busy, why?” She knows she’ll regret asking but she can’t help being curious. She’s only here for another day, she has to spend her time wisely and not lounge around in bed when she can be seeing her dear friends and family.
“Hear me out. You, me, movie.” Mizuki again is very vague. No name of a movie, no screening time, no ticket price.
“You have to be more specific than that.” Ena huffs, crossing her arms unseriously and trying to stare Mizuki in the eyes that she flits away from Ena’s brown ones.
“Err… now?” What?
“You want me to go and see a movie with you right now? In my formal wear?” She’s a little disbelieving. Mizuki has to be joking, right?
It immediately becomes clear that joking isn’t on the table when Mizuki clasps her hands together, bowing her head in a way that shows her pleadingness. “Please Ena! I already bought us tickets. I thought it’d be a good way to distract you just in case things didn’t go well. Or a reward if things did go well. See, I’m smart.” Even when she’s begging Ena, she can’t refrain from praising herself.
As horribly tired as Ena is, and the way her clothes rub uncomfortably quite literally all over her body, she isn’t sure when an opportunity like this will arise again. If she’s going back to her rural town tomorrow night, then that means this might be one of the last times she and Mizuki see each other in person for the next while.
“Fine.” Ena says, watching as MIzuki’s eyes sparkle and her mouth falls open with joy. “But I hope you picked a good movie. You’re never hearing the end of it if it’s an awful one.” She smiles a little and is clearly unserious in her threats, Mizuki pumping her first in the air and dancing around stupidly. She needs to stop letting Mizuki walk on her. Next time, definitely next time.
–
Ena’s front door pops open and creaks as she enters, a dopey smile on her face despite the anticipation that weighs down her bones. “Someone looks happy.” She’s inside for approximately 30 seconds before she’s already being called out to, dropping her heels at the door and further exploring the house to find the person talking to her.
“Where are mom and dad?” Ena asks, letting her bag fall from her shoulder and setting it on the kitchen counter.
“Dad’s at the studio, mom’s grocery shopping.” Akito is busy cutting up vegetables, a skill that Ena internally wonders where it was acquired.
“You didn’t go shopping with her?” The comment earns her an irritated glare for just a brief second before Akito continues chopping.
“No, I’m doing dinner prep.” He uses his finger to slide off the bits of cucumber that stick to the knife, watching them topple onto the cutting board and sliding forward the next piece to dice. “You should’ve gone with her.”
Now it’s Ena’s turn to give a look, face contorting to obvious confusion. “I was busy, you know that.” She starts to strip herself of the constraining blazer, button after button coming undone at her practiced hands. You can only wear the same outfit so many times before taking it on and off turns into muscle memory.
Akito doesn’t respond to her and she assumes he’s not in a talking mood. Just as she’s easing the fabric off of her shoulders, he pipes up. “So what’s that about?” Leave it to Akito to be purposefully vague. She folds up the clothes and hangs it over the edge of a dining room chair.
“What’re you talking about?” She sighs at the relief and feels the tension start to ooze out of her shoulders. She needs to invest in formal wear that she can actually break in and doesn’t feel like wearing cardboard armor.
“The little gift box on your desk, where’d you get it?” If Ena were drinking something she would’ve definitely spit it out, instead settling for a sharp inhale and turning to face him again.
“What?! Why’re you snooping around in my room?!” Is that why he didn’t go to the grocery store? That jerk, he knows her room is off limits. That rule hasn’t changed since middle school, has his brain stopped working?
“Calm down, I just saw it as I passed by. Your door is open.” Thinking back on it, remembering the frantic struggle of this morning, Ena can’t be sure that she closed her door. What he’s suggesting is probable but still annoying.
“It’s from ages ago. I must’ve forgotten to take it when I moved.” Easy as that, things are cleared up. It’s annoying that she has to think of an excuse—one she wouldn’t need if he wasn’t so nosy—but at least she doesn’t awkwardly stammer and have to rack her brain for a half-convincing alibi.
“No it’s not, the receipt said it was bought yesterday.” Ena hangs her head, caught red-handed in her lie. She moves to respond, to admit her guilt, when she comes to a sudden realization.
“You’re so stupid! You couldn’t have read the receipt if you weren’t in my room!” He seems to notice his mistake as well, his face turning to a nervous grit of teeth while he searches for something to cover his tail. Akito quickly accepts his fate, looking up from the cutting board and mindlessly holding the knife up.
“And you were literally laying on my floor last night. That makes us even, yeah?” The knife twirls around in his hand, not threatening her but a simple twist of his wrist as he talks. He extends his neck forward like he’s negotiating with a child which infuriates Ena.
“If we’re even then don’t go in there again!”
“I wasn’t planning on it!” He refocuses back on the vegetables, only staring at them wordlessly and not making any attempt to start slicing. Glancing at Ena through his fringe, he talks again. “So, are you going to tell me?”
She wants to groan and lock herself in her room but she doesn’t. She’s an adult woman talking to her adult brother—even if he acts immature sometimes—and they can handle this civilly. Their parents won’t be home for a while and she told him before she left the house that she’d talk to him once she got home. They’ll chat, but only because she has time to kill.
“It’s just an accessory I got myself.” She tries to defuse the way he’s trying to turn the conversation, an attempt to shift it in a different and more comfortable direction. He sees through that immediately, tutting and shaking his head. Why is it that everyone treats her like a child today?
“Don’t lie. You don’t ask for the gift box if you’re buying it for yourself.” Either he’s been reading up on how to be perceptive or Ena is just a horrible liar because he catches her in everything she says almost immediately.
“Fine, I just bought it for a friend back home.” It feels weird calling her apartment home when she’s standing in the kitchen of her childhood house, talking to her beloved brother. Everything has felt weird since she got off the train and welcomed herself back into the city.
“I thought the people there sucked?” Ena sighs heavily, pulling out a chair and sitting instead of forcing herself to stand on legs that are already tired from the events of today.
“They are. Some guy totally acted like I was a criminal the other day. He looked me up and down and asked my friend if I was a bother right in front of me.” The memory is enough to make Ena feel an angry heat spread across her face. Annoying customers, not knowing how to treat people if they’re from anywhere else on the planet. How self-absorbed can you be?
“And this is the guy you’re buying a gift for?” Ena’s stunned at Akito's stupidity for a moment before seeing the look on his face that he tries to hide. He absolutely has to stop talking to Mizuki, they’re rubbing off on each other.
“Ew, no. Don’t be dumb.” He only shrugs, a smile on his face as he drops a large helping of vegetables into an otherwise empty strainer. He brings it over to the sink with him, turning on the tap and doing it in the complete backwards order. Ena shouldn’t have overestimated his skill, anyone with a brain knows you wash before you cut.
“So your friend is the nice one? Did she say anything to the dude?” Ena decides to not point out his actions since he’s actually engaging in the conversation and not needlessly teasing her.
“She didn’t say anything to him but I think it’s because she doesn’t want to drive customers away.” Akito scoffs, turning off the sink and plopping the strainer on the counter.
“Does it matter if one customer doesn’t come back?” The initial reaction Ena has is to question his intelligence again before she remembers that he’s only lived in the city. Of course it doesn’t matter in the city—there are hundreds of other people who can replace them—-but the case is a little different in a town with such a small population.
It’s especially important considering the fact that Kanade isn’t just some random employee, she’s the owner of the shop. “There are probably less people in that town then you’d see at Scramble Crossing during a big sale; yes it matters.” His eyes look up like he’s pondering before eventually nodding in understanding.
“Okay, so, she’s one of the cool ones I guess?” Akito’s back at it again, cutting the dirty vegetables that he really should be washing before bringing the blade to.
“You could say that.” There’s a gush of affection that explodes inside of her, a compelling force that drives her to compliment Kanade relentlessly. “She’s just pretty and sweet, you know? She treats me well and doesn’t mind what the other people say.” There’s so much more she wants to say but she makes the conscious effort to stop, trying to hold back and not embarrass herself.
Akito doesn’t immediately respond, his chopping pace definitely slower as he digests her words. He clears his throat like he had this morning, swallowing laughter. “A little passionate, are we?” Despite all she had done to keep the humiliation from her face, Ena feels a blush begin to overtake her features.
“What are you implying? Shut up.” She silences him before he even gets to answer, already knowing exactly what it is he’s nodding to. He’s wrong, definitely wrong…
He lets the silence linger again for a moment, no thuds of the knife hitting the cutting board this time. There’s a small sigh that pierces the silence, a glance in her direction before he looks back at the food before him. “How mad are you at Mizuki today?” The question is odd, horribly so, and it catches Ena completely off guard.
How mad is she at Mizuki? She showed up outside of her meeting today which wasn’t called for and snapped an embarrassing photo of her. Ena adds negative points to her tally. Then again, she gave Ena some much needed comfort when it was all boiling over after she got off the phone with Kanade. She adds some positive points this time.
“Not horribly. What’d she do?” Her expectations are already lower than the ground. What could she have possibly done to have Akito of all people asking her this? Is he the one that she sent the picture to?
“How would you react if I told you she already told me about your friend… hypothetically?” Ena tries to process what he’s saying but it doesn’t really make sense. Why would she be mad that Mizuki told Akito that?
“She talked to you about Kanade? What’d she say?” She’s more curious than anything. Mizuki knows Kanade, some from experience and some from stories Ena has told, but Ena can’t really pinpoint a specific fact or incident that Mizuki would find joy in telling Akito.
“Well I guess she talked more about you…” he trails off ominously. He takes another nervous glance at her like he’s afraid of how she’ll respond. “About you and how you’re obsessed with her.” The gulp he makes is audible but lost on Ena’s ears that no longer listen.
Mizuki is so going to get it. Ena’s never telling her anything again, nothing ever. Well maybe small things, but nothing else! She’s almost in awe that Mizuki has such a huge mouth. Airi, Akito, who next? She can’t even respond angrily before Akito is talking again.
“Don’t tell her I told you! She said she trusted I wouldn’t say anything but we’re right here and I wanted to ask about it.” Now Ena’s stuck. She doesn’t want to make a possible drift between Akito and Mizuki, especially since they’ve actually started getting along since high school, but she also wants to drag Mizuki by the ear like a disobedient kid and make her apologize.
She supposes this is partially her fault. The number one rule of talking to Mizuki is to not say anything you don’t want shared with all of your friends. It’s not like she spills big secrets, she’s private enough in that manner, but she definitely has trouble keeping it all inside. She lets just enough slip to make the other person curious but cuts herself off before the real information falls out.
Ena sighs heavily, expressing clearly her distaste for the situation. Mizuki has been fairly supportive and her telling Akito isn’t the biggest thing in the world. “Fine, I’ll let her off the hook this one time.” His face relaxes significantly, working both him and Mizuki out of trouble only because Ena feels like being generous.
“Am I still allowed to ask what that’s about or not?” Akito immediately starts pushing the boundaries of Ena’s laxness. She sighs, putting her elbows on the counter and bringing both of her hands to hold her head up.
“Fire away.” Her voice is muffled with both her shame and the presence of her hands. It feels like she can’t go a day without having to flesh herself out about her embarrassing and undefined relationship with Kanade.
“So like, you fell head over heels and started dating?” Ena tilts her head up so that she’s looking at Akito, hands still supporting her chin.
“Did she tell you we were dating?” She knows she agreed to let Mizuki go without consequences just a minute ago but they’re going to have an issue if she’s telling lies. To drop her secrets is one thing, to completely fabricate a relationship is another.
“Well, not exactly. She sort of just said you were crazy about some girl and then slapped her hand over her mouth like it was something she wasn’t supposed to say.” Because it is something she wasn’t supposed to say. Ena can’t help but grimace at a mere misunderstanding giving Akito the wrong idea.
“We’re not dating.” Ena says it plainly, the same line she’s rehearsed to everyone she accidentally spouts too much about Kanade too.
That same irritating choking noise comes from Akito for the third time in a twenty-four hour period, refusing to laugh and show Ena that he’s apparently finding humor in something that’s going on right now. In Ena’s humble—and of course objectively correct—opinion, there’s nothing to laugh at right now.
“You didn’t deny the head over heels part.” A fiery red burns Ena’s cheeks, the ones she moves back into her hands in a desperate attempt to hide. Just talking about this is already embarrassing enough, much less to her younger brother, and he definitely doesn’t have to see the way she’s glowing like holiday lights.
“It’s not as serious as Mizuki makes it sound, you know how she overexaggerates.” She doesn’t hear anything wrong with her words but realizes something’s wrong when Akito looks at her with an odd expression on his face.
“Not serious? Like, you guys are just messing around?” Oh.
“No! That’s not what I’m saying. I mean, like, I’m not sure she likes me the same. I’m not playing her, I promise.” Akito eyes her with concern before it eventually fades back into untrusting neutrality.
“Mhm…” Ugh, even when she has her thoughts gathered, Ena can’t help making a fool of herself.
“I’m serious, she’s too nice for me to do something so scummy like that to her!” Akito adds more vegetables to the strainer, running them through water a second time as he responds.
“So nice that you’d buy her a present? I’m surprised, I didn’t take you to be the kind who spoils people.” First of all, rude. Second of all, what??
“It’s just a gift—and stop making me sound like a cheapskate!” Akito laughs, not even bothering to do the maddening act of suppression.
“Lighten up, you were joking with me earlier. You get all defensive when you talk about this girl.” He’s smiling and Ena mirrors it, albeit through a more flushed face.
“Shut up! My jokes are funny, you’re just poking fun at me.”
“I haven’t seen you in months, I think I deserve to poke some fun at you and your girlfriend.” Ena feels herself turning even more red and grumbles exasperatedly.
“Akito.”
“Fine, fine. Really though, you came all the way here and the only thing you could think about at the mall was buying her a gift?” When he puts it like that it becomes ten times more embarrassing, making Ena produce an involuntary whining noise as she brings her head to lay on the kitchen counter uncomfortably.
“I can’t help it. I think Mizuki’s right and I’m going crazy.” Even crazy is probably an understatement. Going mad? Insane? Absolutely bonkers. In all honesty, it’s all three at the same time.
“Then why don’t you just tell her? It’d get it off your chest, yeah?” Oh, Akito. Innocent and joyously unaware of Ena’s patheticness. Surely, he has an idea of what a loser she is, but without being there to witness the train situation, there’s no way for him to know just how deep she’s fallen.
“I can’t do that, my boss right now hates her to death and it’ll make things weird between us.” Her reservations against telling Akito have been dissolved and everything spouts out of her before she even realizes it.
“How do you think you did at your meeting today?” The question deters from their conversation and forces Ena out of her head, making her think logically, which is always a struggle when Kanade is plaguing her brain.
“Um, I think I did okay. I was really down about it but I’m just hoping for the best.” She avoids broaching the fact that she had practically raced out of the building to call Kanade.
“Then when you get hired by the Ootoris you can tell her. A new boss means there are no problems.” Akito seems to have forgotten that Ena isn’t sure if Kanade likes her at all. Well, maybe saying isn’t sure is a little wrong. They really have to talk about the kiss. The soft, tender meeting of their lips that— enough!!
There’s no point in arguing with Akito. Even if she were to lay out her reasons against that course of action—which would already be demeaning to the third degree—he would definitely remain stubborn in his suggestion. That’s just how he is, blunt and straight to business. As much as it bugs her, Ena appreciates his truthfulness and inability to sugarcoat.
“I guess.” She groans. She doesn’t even get the chance to wallow in her own plaintive situation before Akito’s causing a ruckus again.
“Okay.” He says, setting the knife down as it clatters lightly. “You’ll help me with dinner now. Mom will be home soon and we need to have this ready by the time she gets back.” We? Ena laughs out loud. It’s just like high school, the both of them forcing chores on each other when they know well they’re supposed to do it themselves.
Regardless, she stands up. Maybe by helping him cook, she can clear her mind of all the clutter that’s circulating around up there.